Pride orders fourth drillship at Samsung

Houston-headquartered Pride International, Inc. (NYSE:PDE) today said that it has placed an order for a fourth advanced-capability, ultra-deepwater drillship. Like three previously announced units, it will be constructed at the Samsung Heavy Industries, Ltd. (SHI) shipyard in Geoje, South Korea on a fixed-price basis. It is expected to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2011, following construction, commissioning and system-integrated testing.

"This attractive shipyard delivery provides a unique opportunity to address a growing base of customers with ultra-deepwater rig needs in the early part of the next decade, while we continue to execute our strategic objective of expanding our premium asset base," said Louis A. Raspino, President and CEO of Pride International, Inc. "Because access to the world's premium shipyards is highly constrained, with no known opportunities to provide customers with new ultra-deepwater capacity before the end of 2011 and with several units already ordered with expected deliveries in 2012, we have decided to move forward and commit to our fourth ultra-deepwater construction project with SHI. We believe demand for ultra-deepwater rig capacity extends well into the next decade, providing excellent prospects for contracting this latest unit.''

Expected construction cost, including commissioning and system integrated-testing and excluding capitalized interest, is approximately $745 million. Pride expects to fund the construction of the unit with available cash, cash flow from operations and borrowings.

The new drillship, to be named at a later date, is based on an SHI proprietary hull design measuring 750 feet long, 140 feet wide and offering a pay load in excess of 20,000 metric tons. The unit is designed for drilling in water depths of up to 12,000 feet, with a total vertical drilling depth of 40,000 feet, and will have off-line tubular stand building capabilities, as well as feature dynamic positioning in compliance with DPS-3 certification. The rig, which will be initially equipped for drilling in water depths of up to 10,000 feet, will also have expanded drilling fluids capacity, a 1,000 ton capacity hoisting system and living quarters for up to 200 personnel.

Pride International, Inc. operate a fleet of 47 offshore rigs, including two deepwater drillships, 12 semisubmersible rigs, 28 jackups and five managed deepwater rigs. The company now has four ultra-deepwater drillships under construction with expected deliveries in 2010 and 2011.